2016 Project 52, 4th Quarter by Janis

[purplehaze]

I have not been expressing my goals, but they tend to be rather general: improve my shooting skills, especially my choice of aperture and focal point for adequate DOF. Choice of shutter speed is also an issue, but I shoot action much less. Shooting the Ultimate tournament was a great exercise for me, as you will eventually see. I have also been working on my processing skills: learning Capture One, experimenting with layering filters in ColorEfex Pro, making stabs at learning Photoshop. I have also been spending a lot of time organizing my Aperture libraries in anticipation of moving them over to Capture One. Finally, I purchased a Wacom tablet this quarter (an Intuos Pro Medium); I only just got it out of the box this weekend and am slowly getting accustomed to using it.

Week 40

Finally, some shots with the Nikon. These are some of my favorites from the ones I have processed thus far.

Telephoto shots are with the Nikkor 70-200, wide angle with the Sigma 18-35.

#1

f/8, 1/800, 200 ISO, 180 mm

#2 I'd be grateful if someone could id this bird for me.

f/8, 1/400, 200 ISO, 190 mm

#3

f/8, 1/640, 200 ISO, 190 mm

#4

f/16, 1/160, 1600 ISO, 20 mm

#5 Two interpretations of the same image:

f/11, 1/200, 280 ISO, 30 mm

Edit: Oops, I see I overlooked some dust spots. I will correct and repost.

#6


#7 Just one of a series of images I took of a couple of little boys playing on the beach below me. I was quite far from them, so this is a heavy crop.

f/9, 1/500, 200 ISO, 190 mm

#8 One of the last good ones.

f/9, 1/60, 1600 ISO, 26 mm

[Shadowman]

Nice series:
1. was this formation already in place or your design? Nicely captured, although centered composition I think it works.
2. http://whatbird.com/ try this website for identification.
3. Nicely composed and exposed.
4. Could use a slight crop at top.
5-6. Both work well, would clone out the spec of light in middle of composition of the color version.
7-8. Perfect.

[IzzieK]

All in this series have excellent exposures and compositions, according to me...though my itty bitty bit of complain is that there are no EXIF in any of them to show what settings you used...t'would be nicer if they have...
#1 needed that centered look shot.
#3 what needed to be said here!!! I like the colour combination, the sharpness, the composition. One of your best!
#4 and #5 -- No push nor pull. I like them both. Which one is the interpretation of which witch? Sure I like the coloured ones because I too see in colour and not in Black and White but the latter is interesting.
#6 -- that is a very interesting toddy shot...all the blues are in cahoot with one another from his paddles to his ball and his shirt only to be punctuated by the yellows, the pink and the red.
#7 the dog is a soft spot...an added bonus.

[John 2]

2 (Thrush of some kind? perhaps), 5 and 6 for me Janis. Unusually, I have no preference between the colour and Mono version of the seascape. Both are good. The horizon in 8 perhaps needs some attention.

[Wavelength]

Excellent; really enjoyed seeing all of them

[purplehaze]

Thanks, Nandakumar, John 2, Izzie, and John.

John, the little inukshuk-like structure was someone else's handiwork that I just happened upon. Thanks for the link. My best guess is that the bird is a Pectoral Sandpiper. The beak is a little short, but we are smack dab in the middle of its migration path. I think I'll take your advice about 4, 5 and 6. It is going to take more effort than I thought to get rid of at least one of the dust spots, though, and I don't have enough patience for it tonight.

Izzie, I was being lazy about adding the EXIF data, but it is there now.

John 2, the horizon you see is the shoreline and so the angle seems natural to me. I do think I might have overdone the vignette, though; the bit of halter and sand above her back may be a touch too light.

[purplehaze]

Begging your indulgence, I'm going to add a couple more of the little boy and his brother.

#9

f/9, 1/500, 200 IS0, 135 mm

#10

f/8, 1/500, 200 ISO, 175 mm

And a final beach shot from the same night as the others.

#11

f/16, 1/200, 1600 ISO, 18 mm

[IzzieK]

The little boy seems to be fascinated with his shadows...what a cute little heeler. (my term for anklebiters like blue heelers, kids) Anyway, his brother is into making little pool of water. #11 is a very nice scene...

[purplehaze]

Thanks, Izzie. Yes, that little boy was adorable. I could have stayed and watched longer, but someone was pulling at her leash.